Shaving head for a dry shaver having a plurality of cutting components



-Jan- 1969 c. L. RINCK ETAL 3, 4

SHAVING HEAD FOR A DRY SHAVER HAVING A PLURALITY OF CUTTING COMPONENTS Filed June 13. 1966 III I5 2/ W9 15/ 1/ b0 23 INVENTORS Comeza's L.RL72c/ Adam Koronccu BY 7 41/4 51 %;+ORNEX$ United States Patent A 5,423/65 US. Cl. 3034.1 Int. Cl. B26b 19/06; B26b 19/38 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shaving head for a dry shaver having a shaving component and at least one long hair clipping component arranged adjacent to the shaving component. The shaving component having a stationary arched and perforated shear foil and cooperating reciprocating cutter and the long hair clipping component having a stationary comb and cooperating reciprocating flat cutter comb.

This invention relates to shaving heads for dry shavers, including a cutter foil and a cutter comb of a side-cutter arranged adjacent thereto, and a common cutter movable to and fro underneath the cutter foil and the cutter comb, the cutter being arranged in a frame of which one longitudinal part extends with clearance beneath the side cutter and there forms a part of the boundary of a hair chamber to receive the hair clippings, the cutter having teeth cooperating with the cutter comb.

In dry shavers with a shaving head of this kind, there is the disadvantage that, owing to the use of a common cutter for the cutter foil and the side cutter, there exists a connection between the space below the cutter foil and the space below the side cutter, so that the hair clippings produced in shaving can escape unhindered through the gap which exists between the part of the moving cutter associated with the side cutter and the fixed part of the shaving head situated thereunder. It would be desirable to so seal this gap that a closed hair chamber is formed underneath the cutter foil to receive the hair clippings. It is, however, impracticable to fill the gap with sealing material since this greatly increases the friction. On the other hand, to keep the gap so small, without using sealing material, that the hair clippings cannot escape, requires such narrow tolerances to be observed as to render the device much more expensive.

In accordance with the present invention, in a dry shaver of the type mentioned in the first paragraph of this specification, the disadvantage we have mentioned is eliminated by there being elongated portions of uniform cross section on the cutter adjacent to the teeth and on the opposite surface of the said longitudinal part, which intermesh or overlap with clearance, and thus define a gap which, in cross section, is made up of a series of parts extending in different directions.

It is an advantage to provide a projection and a recess which interrnesh without contact arranged on the cutter part and on the longitudinal part of the frame.

For example, it is possible to arrange a strip on the cutter part which engages in a groove provided on the longitudinal part of the frame, while the strip and the groove preferably have corresponding T-shaped crosssections.

In accordance with another development of the invention, wall portions are arranged on the longitudinal part of the frame in the two end zones, which are temporarily disengaged when the cutter reciprocates, in order to seal the hair chamber in the shaving head, and these wall portions extend upwards beyond the cutter; the cutter in that case has two open-ended longitudinal slots, in which the wall parts penetrate during reciprocation of the cutter.

By means of the construction according to the present invention, the path to be followed by the hair clippings between the cutter and the hair chamber boundary in order to be able to excape from the hair chamber is not only lengthened, but it also frequently changes direction in a meandering manner, so that no hair clippings escape, even if the distance between the cutter and the longitudinal part of the frame is relatively large. This means that no narrow tolerances are necessary, which is particularly important in shaving heads in which the cutter is pressed resiliently against the cutter foil and the cutter comb.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to one example shown in the accompanying drawings.

In FIGURES 1 and 2 a shaving head according to the invention is shown in cross-section and in longitudinal section respectively; and

FIGURE 3 is an isometric view showing in perspective on a larger scale; and FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of a modified structure of a strip on the side part and overlapped by two strips on the cutter comb.

The shaving head shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, designated as a whole by 1, has a frame 26 with two end walls 2 and two longitudinal side parts 3, 3. This frame is seated on a housing (not shown) for the shaver, which acts as a handle and contains the driving motor for the movable cutter. Between the end walls 2 two cross bars 4 are arranged, which carry downwardly directed peg-like projections 5, on which the cutter foil 6, provided with apertures at the points corresponding to the pegs 5, is so mounted that it is upwardly curved between the two cross bars 4, and projects beyond these bars on either side. On the left-hand side in FIGURE 1 the cutter foil 6 terminates in a row of teeth 7 of a closed side-cutter. For this purpose the edge 8 of the cutter foil 6 is bent around downwards and short slots 8' are made in the edge so formed. On the right-hand side of the cutter foil 6 in FIGURE 1, the cutter comb 10 of an open side-cutter is fixed to the edge 9 of the foil 6, FIG. 1, projecting beyond the cross bar 4, for example by spot-welding.

The three cutting portions, namely the cutter foil 6, the row of teeth 7 of the closed side-cutter, and the cutter comb 10 of the open side-cutter, are associated with a common cutter, designated as a whole as 11. The cutter is formed, for example, of a metal plate, of which the centre portion 12 is curved up out of the plane of the plate and formed with a plurality of slots 13 running in the peripheral direction of the curvature. The surface of the centre portion 12 is polished, so that the edges of the bars remaining between the slots form cutting edges cooperating with the cutter foil 6. The two edge portions 14, 14 of the cutter 11, remaining in the original plane of the plate, are provided with teeth 15, 15. These teeth respectively form with the row of teeth 7 and the cutting comb 10 a closed or open side-cutter.

The cutter 11 is fixed by three bolts 17 on a carrier 16 of plastic. The middle bolt of the three acts at the same time to drive the cutter, and for that purpose is gripped by a forked portion of the reciprocating driving motor (not shown). Two springs 18 press the carrier 16 upwards, whereby the cutter 11 is pressed into the curvature of the cutter foil 6. In order to restrict the upward movement of the cutter even when the cutter foil 6 is removed, strips, 19 and 20 respectively, overlapping one another, are provided on the carrier 16 of the cutter 11, and on the longitudinal parts 3, 3 of the shaving head frame 1.

The hair clippings, formed when the cutter foil portion is used, collect in the space 11' below the cutter 11. The housing of the shaver, the end walls 2, and the longitudinal parts 3, 3 of the shaving head frame 1, form a hair chamber 27. Hair clippings can, however, escape from the hair chamber, through the gaps 31 necessarily remaining between longitudinal parts 3, 3 and the cutter parts 14, 14'. With the closed side-cutter, sufiicient sealing of this gap is usually possible without further ado, by the fact that the bent-around edge 8 of the cutter foil 6 is led as far as the longitudinal frame part 3'. With the open side-cutter, however, the reciprocating cutter portion 14 is opposite the longitudinal frame part 3 with a space between. In accordance with the invention, security against the escape of the hair clippings is obtained here, by providing on the underside of the cutter 14, in the tooth-free zone, a plastic strip 21 with T-shaped cross-section, which is fixed to the cutter part 14 by rivets 22. The longitudinal frame part 3 has a recess in the form of a groove 23 also of T-shaped cross-section. The strip 21 moves in this groove when the cutter 11 reciprocates without any mutual contact occurring (see FIGURES 1 and 3).

It can easily be understood that, by the arrangement of the T-shaped strip in the T-shaped groove, instead of one continuous gap in one direction, there are now five gap parts which are in series and extend in dilferent directions. Even if now relatively wide tolerances appear in the assembly of the cutter head, there is no risk that hair clippings will escape in significant amount.

It can be clearly seen from the darwing that, with respect to the cross-section of the gap, many variations are possible, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, the arrangement may be so made that a strip 28 projecting upwards from the right-hand longitudinal side part 3 is overlapped on either side with play by strips 29 and 30 which are fixed n the flat cutter comb 14, as shown in FIG. 4.

Since the cutter reciprocates, the strip on the cutter must always be shorter than the groove in the longitudinal portion of the frame. In order also to prevent hairclippings from escaping at both ends of the longitudinal side part of the frame, where periodically the groove in the shaving head frame is not opposite to the strip on the cutter, there are arranged on the longitudinal part 3 of the frame two wall parts 24 one on each side which extend upwards beyond the cutter and permanently enclose the hair chamber. In order that these wall parts 24 may not prevent the cutter from reciprocating the latter is provided with two open-ended longitudinal slots 25 in which these wall parts can penetrate when the cutter reciprocates.

Of course the sealing described according to the invention can if necessary also be used in the closed sidecutter 7,

We claim:

1. A shaving head for a dry shaver having a shaving component and at least one long hair clipping component arranged adjacent thereto, said shaving component comprising a stationary arched perforated shear foil and a cooperating reciprocating arched cutter pressed resiliently against the lower side of said shear foil, said long hair clipping component comprising a stationary comb arranged parallel to a longitudinal side of the shear foil and a cooperating reciprocating flat cutter comb, said reciprocating arched cutter and flat cutter comb forming together a cutter assembly arranged for reciprocation in a frame, said frame bounded by longitudinal side parts and transverse end-walls with a hair chamber beneath the reciprocating arched cutter of the cutter assembly to receive the hair cuttings from the shaving component, the fiat cutter comb of the cutter assembly forming a clearance with the adjacent longitudinal side part of the frame and the opposite surfaces of said flat cutter comb and said longitudinal side part of the frame being provided with intermeshing longitudinal wall and channel means, thus forming in a direction transverse to and between these longitudinal intermeshing means a path of labyrinth configuration, whereby leakage of hair cutting through said clearance is prevented.

2. A shaving head according to claim 1, in which a protruding strip is provided on the flat cutter comb, which strip engages in a groove provided on the adjacent longitudinal side part of the frame.

3. A shaving head according to claim 2, in which the strip and the groove have corresponding T-shaped crosssections.

4. A shaving head according to claim 1, in which wall portions are on the longitudinal side part of the frame in the two end zones, Which become temporarily disengaged when the cutter assembly reciprocates, in order to seal the hair chamber in the shaving head, said wall portions extending across the clearance beyond the flat cutter comb, and the flat cutter comb having two open-ended longitudinal slots, in which the wall parts penetrate during reciprocation of the cutter assembly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS MYRON C. KRUSE, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

